Fianna Fáil: Closure of Grafton College ‘terrible blow’ for workers and their families

Fianna Fáil has described the closure of Grafton College in Dublin as a ‘terrible blow’ for the workers and their families.

The party’s Thomas Byrne and Jim O’Callaghan visited Grafton College in Portobello on 04 December to meet the teachers who worked there.

Grafton College of Management Sciences opened its campus in Dublin in November 2003.

A notice on Grafton’s website on Monday 03 December confirmed the company had gone into Liquidation:

“We regret to say that Grafton College of Management Sciences Limited trading as Grafton College (“the Company”) has ceased to trade as of 30 November 2018. The Board of the Company intends to immediately convene a meeting of creditors, at which a Liquidator will be appointed to the Company. Notice of the Creditors Meeting will sent to all creditors in due course…We deeply regret the inconvenience that may be caused to our students, teachers, staff and creditors by the Company ceasing to trade.”

‘Arrangements in place’ for Students

Grafton also said that registered students with the college would be placed in other Marketing English in Ireland (MEI)partner schools, and ‘this process is already underway’.

MEI is an association of accredited English language schools and colleges in Ireland and Grafton College has been a member of MEI for ‘many years’.

According to MEI, management of Grafton College had informed MEI of ‘trading difficulties’ for the college and the likely impact on students.

MEI said their member schools have ‘arrangements in place’ for the protection of learners which means that in the event of the closure of an MEI member school, other MEI members will ‘automatically offer places to displaced students to ensure they can complete their studies for the duration of the course for which they have registered and paid’.

“All impacted Grafton College students are already in Ireland and are registered and attending classes at Grafton College. Arrangements will be put in place by MEI to ensure all students are enabled to complete their studies.”

-MEI Statement

Teachers

Trade union Unite, which represents English Language Teachers expressed its support for the decision by teachers employed by Grafton College to occupy the college’s premises on 03 December.

The union said the ‘snap closure’ of the business on 30 November has left teachers being owed a month’s wages.

According to Unite, the teachers occupied the Portobello premises and ‘demanded’ that Education and Skills Minister Joe McHugh visit the college and speak to the teachers.

“They are also demanding that the Qualification and Quality Assurance bill designed to regulate the sector, which is currently making its way through the Oireachtas, be fast-tracked and amended to include minimum standards of employment for teachers, and that the owner of the college, Saeed Rehman, engage with them regarding the monies owed.”

-Unite

Unite Regional Coordinating Officer Richie Browne added that Grafton College is ‘just one in a series of colleges’ which have closed overnight leaving both teachers and students ‘high and dry’.

Fianna Fáil’s Education Spokesperson Thomas Byrne said the closure is another in a long line of issues which have ‘besieged English language colleges in Ireland’.

“We have seen in the past, students losing out after paying course fees for classes which did not go ahead, teachers losing out on badly needed wages and schools losing their accreditations. This latest scandal with Grafton College exposes greater issues within the English language sector.”

-Thomas Byrne TD

The TD added that he supports the plight of the Grafton College staff members. “The least they should expect is that they will be paid for their work,” he concluded.

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